Tuesday, December 7, 2010

The holidays are usually accompanied by more drinking than usual as people have more free time to let loose, with a host of different types of alcoholic beverages like hard eggnog or hard cider in many American households. Now, people have the ability to make simple desserts or even hot chocolate a little bit heavier with liquor-laced whipped cream which can be acquired in a number of liquor stores. It's called Cream, with an alcohol content of 15 percent and a number of different flavors to accompany any one's pallet. 15 percent, believe it or not, is about three times the percentage of alcohol by volume that's in beer, the equivalent of one bottle of wine. Parents who decide to bring liquor-infused whip cream home should very cautious about where they decide to store the concoction, teenagers might take a liking to such a treat that has the ability to get them drunk.

When Cream is refrigerated the alcohol separates from the cream, parents should keep the product in a cabinet, out of sight out of mind. Products, like Cream, are geared to younger audience and have become quite popular amongst college students; it is probably fair to say that when college lets out for the holidays and kids go back to their homes they may be tempted to consume such products. Alcoholic hybrid products have become favorites across the country on a number of campuses, products like the controversial Four Loko, which has been sending students to the ER at an alarming rate, have been under a lot of fire. It's probably fair to say that it will not be long before Cream catches the attention of state officials.

"People don't always know how much alcohol they are ingesting with these kind of products," said Michael Botticelli, director of the Bureau of Substance Abuse Services, in an e-mailed statement. Nick Pasquarosa, the school resource police officer in Yarmouth, Cream is going to add to a preexisting problem: Alcohol use is pervasive among teens and adults must keep bottles — from bourbon to laced whipped cream — out of reach. "Kids aren't sophisticated drinkers," he said. "Whether it tastes like moonshine or Kool-Aid, they'll want to get their hands on it if they think it's cool."